Bill Belichick Press Conference Transcript

Tuesday, August 02, 2011 12:05 PM EDT

BB: I guess everybody saw the transactions. We announced that the second round draft picks are in. We've almost got that process completed. The day off yesterday was probably good for the coaching staff. It definitely gave us a chance to kind of get reorganized, take stock of what's happened in the past week and get a better plan going forward for some of the changes and the type of training camp that we're running. And also, we've seen our players - most of them - and got some sense of where they're at and kind of where things are going and what our priorities need to be in the next few days. And then evaluate that and kind of keep going forward here, but it was a good opportunity to get our feet on the ground a little bit. We'll go out there today and we've got a night practice tomorrow in the stadium, and get a few practices here and just see how it all comes together.

Q: What have you thought of Albert Haynesworth's play so far?

BB: Albert has worked hard. I think that it's coming [along]. We've got a long way to go, so just take it day-by-day, but I think he's doing fine.

Q: In the learning process for players like Haynesworth and [Chad] Ochocinco and whoever else you bring in, do you have one specific role that you want them to learn now or do you just kind of throw it all at them now and see what they come up with in a few weeks?

BB: I think it varies from player to player. With every single player on the team, we have certain goals for them and we have certain responsibilities. We tell him, ‘Look, this is what you're responsible for and this is what we want you to learn.' Maybe we tell him what the rotations are going to be or how many reps they're going to get doing whatever it is that's scheduled for them and those kinds of things. So each player has his own set of priorities and his own, I would say, guidelines or expectations for him as far as what he's going to do or how he's going to do it or what things we want him to learn or what he needs to work extra on or that type of thing. Every player has that, doesn't matter whether they're new or old, rookies or 20-year veterans. We try to prioritize things for every player so that when they start the season, they know the things that we feel like are most important and they improve on or show us in the early part of it. Then we reevaluate that as we go at the start of the season, at the bye week. At the end of the season we kind of recalibrate that going into the offseason. It's a continuous process and it's constantly being revised.

Q: In the process of acquiring Albert Haynesworth, how much did you consult Floyd Reese, who has a background with him?

BB: I talked to Floyd, sure.

Q: What were some of the things that he said to you?

BB: He recalled the years that Albert was in Tennessee and some of the things they did with him, some of the things about his performance and so forth. No different than the way we talk about any player. Some players [have] been with, you know, Jason Licht at Philadelphia or Arizona or whatever it happens to be. Sometimes you've been with players or people in your organization have been with players in other organizations and sometimes they haven't.

Q: Was Jim Schwartz another guy you touched base with?

BB: Let's just say that I think with every player, you try to gain the information that you can through whatever means those are.

Q: Was there anything specific that you saw that made you think Albert Haynesworth might be ready or he's maybe matured enough to come here that kind of overrides the concern about his long rap sheet?

BB: Again, not speaking on any particular player, but as I've said many times, anytime you bring a person into the organization, you have to feel comfortable doing that and that encompasses a lot of different things. In the end, you go through the process, you get any information that you can acquire through whatever those sources are. And you evaluate the player, evaluate your team, evaluate the situation, and if you decide to bring that player onto your team, then you do that with the expectations that it will work out. And if you don't, then you don't and he's not on your team. It's not one thing, it's a process.

Q:What was the reaction to Matt Light and the team apparently agreeing to terms?

BB: Well, I wouldn't comment on it until we announce it and it's official.

Q: What's your reaction to a lot of these rookie deals where guys are getting full guaranteed contracts? There are players that have played years in this league and don't have guaranteed deals. What's your opinion on that?

BB: We're just going to work within the framework of the system to try to build a team as best we can.

Q: Were you surprised to see guaranteed contracts?

BB: Again, when systems change, things change. Contracts change, rules change, player personnel rules change. Whatever they are, then we learn them and work with them.

Q: What was your reaction to Randy Moss' retirement and can you speak about his time here?

BB: I think I've said many times that Randy is one of the great players that I've had the opportunity to coach. I don't know that I've seen him make that announcement. Maybe I missed it. Has Randy been quoted on that?

Q: His agent did.

BB: I don't want to speak for Randy, but of course I think he was a great player. I think that will be recognized in time, at some point, really how exceptional of a player he was. He made a lot of contributions to our football team during the time he was here. I enjoyed coaching him and I enjoyed our relationship off the field as well as on the field.

Q: There were reports that you wanted to bring him back.

BB: I wouldn't comment on any reports.

Q: What is it about Kevin Faulk's role that makes it so important to bring him back this year?

BB: I think the role of Kevin Faulk - he's been a very productive player for us. He's the ultimate team player. He takes great pride in professionalism in his job. He's a great example for all of us in terms of being professional, being team-oriented, and putting himself second to the team goals and setting a great example and doing everything he can to help the team win. I don't know how you could get a better example than that. He's along the lines of Troy Brown and Tedy Bruschi and Rodney Harrison and many other players we've had like that. He's really at the top of that list.

Q: Can you tell the two rookies on the team in that position to watch him?

BB: I think any player on the team, or any coach on the team for that matter, that watches Kevin Faulk can see positives in Kevin and learn from it. He's an inspiration to all of us, the way he carries himself, the way he goes about his job, and his positive contributions to the team. I think he inspires every single one of us. But I don't think it's his job to do somebody else's job. What everybody does is up to them. They have to make their own choices and work hard and they have to perform and nobody can do it for them. But Kevin certainly is about as good a player as you can get in terms of if you watch him do things, it would be the way that you'd want your other players to do them.

Q: How different is this offense than the one the Chad Ochocinco was in and how is he doing so far?

BB: I really don't know. I know he's been with several different offensive coordinators in Cincinnati, so I really can't speak to exactly what he was and wasn't told to do and his exact responsibilities in that offense. I don't really know. It doesn't really matter. All we're concerned about just going forward, trying to get all of our players - because it's a new season and we've only been out on the field a handful of times - to get all of our players to understand their assignments and their techniques and to start executing plays as a unit so that we can get some timing and consistency and understand what adjustments we have to make and people making them. And like in the passing game, have good spacing on their pass routes on different coverages and all those sorts of things. So that's really all of us on the team - we all have to do the same thing - veterans, rookies, doesn't really matter. It's such a new year, and everybody is not only working with new people, but in some cases haven't really done anything together as a group like we're doing now in so long, that we need a lot of that work. Everybody needs it.

Q: You probably don't watch a lot of opposing coaches' press conferences, but in a press conference yesterday, Rex Ryan challenged the league to beat the Patriots the way the Jets did. Do you have any challenge to the league that you've been working on?

BB: No, not really. You're right, I haven't seen that one and I don't think I've seen any other ones in a long time. I'm just focused on going out there and trying to improve today and I'll leave the analysis to the experts here.

Q: Would you ever challenge other teams to beat an opponent?

BB: Right now, I'm really just worried about the challenge that we have as a football team and I think we have a big one as far as where we need to go and how much work we have to do to get there. I'm kind focused on that.

Q: He got a big tattoo on his leg during the offseason. Would you like to disclose any tattoos you got?

BB: I'd like to see that one. I'm tattoo free.

Q: Since we last spoke, there've been a couple articles written about a contentious relationship between you and Ty Warren the last few years. Do you have any comments on that?

BB: No, I gave my feelings on Ty when we released him. I think I spoke my feelings at that point, so really nothing has changed in the last three days since I said that.